1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to merchandise display systems, and more specifically relates to merchandise display systems which are modular in function and which are free-standing or mountable to a wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many conventional merchandise display systems include one or more parallel, vertically arranged, elongated support members which are spaced apart from one another. Each elongated support member may include a plurality of slots formed through its thickness and spaced apart axially along the length of the support member. The slots receive hooked ends of mounting brackets, which mounting brackets, when secured to the support members, extend perpendicularly to and outwardly from the front face of each support member. A tray or shelf extends between adjacent pairs of mounting brackets, and merchandise is displayed on, and supported by, the trays or shelves. The trays and shelves, with their associated mounting brackets, may be removed from their current location on adjacent support members and repositioned into different slots in the support members in accordance with the requirements of the merchandiser.
In order to reposition a shelf on such conventional merchandise display system, as described above, the shelf may have to be manipulated vertically (or horizontally) to disengage the mounting brackets on which the shelf rests from the elongated support members, and again manipulated vertically (or horizontally) to re-engage the mounting brackets to the support members when the shelf is repositioned. Such action, required to disengage the shelf and mounting brackets from the support members, may interfere with other shelves in close proximity to the shelf being repositioned and may necessitate the removal of other shelves adjacent to the one being repositioned. This problem is exacerbated if, rather than planar shelves or trays, rectangular parallelepiped or cuboidal modules situated one on top of another or situated side-by-side, with no space between modules, are used in the merchandise display system. Then, most probably all of the modules situated in a row or column may have to be removed in order to reposition a single module.